Climbing on carfilzomib

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ONXX) looks to be on track to quickly monetize its acquisition of Proteolix Inc. last October. The company gained $4.54 (21%) to $26.04 on Monday after reporting topline data from a pivotal Phase IIb trial of carfilzomib to treat relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM). The $284.3 million bump in valuation on the day turned out to be more than the $276 million the company paid up front for Proteolix and its next-generation proteasome inhibitor.

What's more, the lion's share of the $575 in milestone payments to Proteolix shareholders will not be triggered until carfilzomib is approved. Outside of a $40 million clinical milestone that Onyx paid earlier this year, "the remaining payments are all regulatory milestones based on approval of carfilzomib in the U.S. and Europe," according to spokesperson Lori Murray...